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November 05, 2009

I'm delighted to announce that in the spirit of community cooking, James Beard award-winning chef Charles Phan of Slanted Door has graciously offered to host our next event in his industrial prep kitchen in the Mission. The date will be the 22nd of November, and the post will go live in a few days. To cover costs to staff the event and recyclable dishware, there will be a nominal fee (about $6-$8) - payment will be set up through PayPal.

Grazie mille to Charles Phan, and to local food champion Alice Waters for putting us in
touch.

For your viewing pleasure, Farmers Market Watch is now an audio slideshow on YouTube. Check it out, and please add a rating or comment to let me know how you like the new format.

September 22, 2009

Buongiorno - for the past few weeks I've been finding us a new space, and the good news is our next event should be coming up soon. Meanwhile, I've received several requests for a Market Watch, so here we go!

Today is the Autumn Equinox, and at the market we're slowly transitioning into autumnal ingredients: Gravenstein apples, Red Flame grapes and the first pomegranates are showing up on the stands alongside heirloom tomatoes (above), summer squash and sweet peppers. Squash blossoms are ready to be stuffed with goat cheese and a bit of an anchovy and deep fried. Don't forget: you can follow my latest finds on Twitter. Come and say hi.

Here's what else I spotted this week at San Francisco's Heart of the City farmers market:

Bell peppers are at their best in September: vibrant, tangy and sweet, with that distinctive crunch to add texture to your vegetable dishes. Ranging from acid green to flame-red, they can turn your dish from plain and pale to visually arresting. Make yourself peperonata (braised peppers) of orange and red peppers to use as a topping for eggs, in sandwiches, or as a side for grilled meat. Remember to use only the red, yellow, orange or pale green peppers, since their flavor is much more delicate and less invasive than the deep green ones. Mild peppers recipes from Allrecipes and Epicurious.Thai chilli recipes from Allrecipes of Epicurious.

Thanks to the great weather, apples are a little early this year. I purchased several pounds of Gravensteins last week and made a spiced apple sauce to use with pork or with a dab of orange blossom honey in my oatmeal or warm cereal. You can also use them in a quick fall salad: chop them into bite-sized pieces, dress them with apple-cider vinegar, a little olive oil, some blue cheese and a few toasted walnut pieces, and top with freshly ground black pepper.

The first sweet Red Flame grapes are here. These are ideal roasted as a side to a hearty slice of pumpkin bread or atop a well-seared, juicy duck breast. Here's my recipe for a focaccia with roasted red-flame grapes, complete with roasting instructions.

The first pomegranates are here, but all the ones I bought weren't quite ripe yet. Try before you buy.

July 16, 2009

Buongiorno. We're three days away from our group dinner, and the ingredients we'll be using are peaking. Two Dogs Farm brought to market some delicately scented edible flowers you can buy separately or mixed with their organic spring salad (flowers $1/bag, 1/2 lb. organic salad mix $2). I can't wait for Two Dogs farm's Early Girl tomatoes to ripen: I look forward to their peppery, grassy flavor all year.

Here's what else I liked this week at the San Francisco Heart of the City farmers market:

Corn, sweet corn ... I think this year these golden ears fooled even San Francisco weather into thinking it's summer: it's actually warm and sunny on July 16th. Here's a selection of recipes from Allrecipe; $1 for 2 ears.

Sweet purple basil from The Herb Guy. This one's just right for a tangy, herbal pesto with fresh spring garlic and roasted red walnuts. I brought it home and handmade some semolina orecchiette (little ears) pasta to go with it: because of their spoon-like shape, orecchiette can hold sauce to deliver bursts of flavor with every bite.The Herb Guy also carries thyme, marjoram, three kinds of basil, dill, cilantro, an impressive range of mints, lemongrass, pennyworth, sorrel and shiso; $3 for your choice of 4 herbs.

Delta blueberries are here, and they're already pretty good. These vary a lot in flavor, so try before you buy at $6/pint, $10/quart.

The brief,glorious peaches and nectarines season is in full swing - don't let it pass you by. I'm a big fan of Frog Hollow Farms and Bella Viva. Don't miss out on the Bella Viva sale August 15th at the Ferry Building if you're planning to can or make jam from these beauties: $10/flat.

June 16, 2009

Buongiorno. Summer is almost here - as if you couldn't tell from variety on the stands. Many of you asked about the duck eggs I used to make pasta at our last event, so here they are: you can get them at the Alemany farmers market from the egg vendor (by the middle doors). These are $10 for 20 eggs - let me know what you make with them.

Now that locally produced food is hitting the mainstream with the Obamas' garden at the White House, inevitably there are agribusiness naysayers who claim that eating local, seasonal and organic food is much more expensive than commercially produced supermarket produce. Say what?! I'm going to start posting prices of the things I buy at the farmers market, so you can be the judge.

Let me know what you think by posting comments at the bottom of this post.

Here's what else I liked this week at the San Francisco Alemany farmers market:

Italian Red Torpedo organic onions. Back in Italy we use these fresh in salads for their very mild, sweet flavor. They're also great for pickling or in spring soups. $1.50/bunch.

Very mild Montana giant garlic. These
are about 4 feet tall and have a delicate lavender flower at the top
(no garlic smell). Excellent for decorating the table or as a
conversation starter as you log one around the market.

I found some tangy, juicy and savory Delta-grown blueberries that are worth their price: $6 for a large (2 pints), $3.50 for a pint or 3 pints for $10. I'm making pancakes and cornbread with them.

The full range of organic berries have arrived at the market: tayberries, raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberries. I made jams in all shades of red last weekend, including Eclair strawberries, tayberries and raspberries. Next week I'm moving on to ollalieberries and blackberries - can't wait to taste those next winter. The organic ones cost me $20 a flat (12 baskets).

Now's the time to make Italian nocino (an herbal tasting, walnut-infused spirit) with these fresh unpeeled walnuts. Here's the recipe.

Organic Bing cherries for $2.50/lb. These were ready to be eaten: I bought them Saturday and finished them by Sunday evening.

Organic apricots, plums and pluots from Ferrari farms.The apricots are ready, but the plums and pluots are still a little too tart. Try this apricot leather: it's perfect for hiking. $1.50/lb.

June 04, 2009

At the market the first sweet berries are showing up: raspberries, still-slightly-sour blackberries, and tayberries (see above). These Scottish raspberry and blackberry hybrids are a potent, juicy
mix of the two flavors, with the size of a blackberry and the color of a raspberry. We're still devouring a flat of Albion strawberries at an alarming rate, but tayberries are next on the menu. When fresh-picked they're still a little sour, but they should get sweeter after a couple of days at room temperature. I say it's time to get those 3-berry tarts in the oven.

Here's what else I liked this week at the San Francisco Heart of the City farmers market:

My favorite tomato farm is back: certified organic 2 Dog Farms. We still have two months to go until their exceptional dry-farmed Early Girls, but meanwhile, they've got spinach for $1.50/bag, salad mixes at $4/lb, and lovely sunflowers to brighten up our San Francisco pseudo-summer days.

Organic blackberries and raspberries have arrived alongside Albion strawberries. I'll trade you fresh duck-egg pasta for a three berry tart. Just post it in the forums. Any takers?

For you dedicated fans of Vietnamese cooking, there's a new herb stand that sells a thorough range of fresh herbs from around the globe: thyme, marjoram, three kinds of basil, dill, cilantro, an impressive range of mints, lemongrass, pennyworth, sorrel and shiso. Finally you can make those wonderful Vietnamese spring rolls at home. The pesto I made with his sweet purple basil won an encore at our Memorial Day lunch.

Summer squash for all your cooking needs, from very mild and floral to strong and herbaceous: Ronde de Nice, Romanesco, Crookneck and the just-waiting-to-be-stuffed flowers. At our Sunday CH&N event, Samsara's mom made deep-fried flowers stuffed with goat cheese using flowers picked from her garden that morning ... I can't get them out of my head. Recipe, please!

For our Sunday event, I made a duck ragú and farm-freshduck-egg pasta. Recently I met a woman who rescues ducks, hens and quails, and sells me their eggs. Duck eggs are perfect for pasta, with a slightly higher protein content and a larger yolk yielding a toothsome, more richly colored dough. It was too hard for my pro Kitchen Aid 600 Watt mixer to handle, so I had to knead it by hand, but the results were well worth the trouble.

These are the pasta sheets drying out before rolling to make the pappardelle (ribbons).

Since I wanted a wider pasta than a fettuccine, I rolled the sheets and sliced them to my desired width to make pappardelle: a wide pasta that can hold more of the ragú sauce in every bite. This photo is about life-size:

Here's the final product: about 2 lbs. of golden ribbons ready to be cooked. They can also be refrigerated and cooked the next day. In Beverly Hills, there's a restaurant that fills reservations a month in advance for meals featuring duck-egg pasta - but with duck eggs from the Alemany Market and a little brute force, you can make it at home anytime.

May 15, 2009

Buongiorno - I'm back in action, now that my trip to Italy and 40th birthday are behind me (whew!) New treats are overflowing the various SF farmers markets, including my absolute favorite strawberry: the Eclair. You hardly ever find them on the stands, since they're smaller than the ubiquitous Albion and not as visually appealing. But just try one - its sweetness and succulence will convert you. I've only found them at the Ferry Building and Civic Center farmers markets. I buy a case at a time and eat a couple baskets a day ... until the brief season's over.

What I liked this week at the San Francisco farmers markets:

Tomatero Farms' organic Chantenay carrots: perhaps the sweetest and most carrot-tasting of them all. Try these raw in a salad or a (40th birthday) carrot cake, since their natural sweetness is ideal for dessert. Even kids will love these.

Asparagus season is in full swing. Try this asparagus risotto for a one-pot spring dinner.

You can smell the fresh lavender down the block at Alemany. Chop some into butter or a chocolate dessert.

Fresh snap peas add spring flavor to pastas and stir fries. You don't have to shell them: cook them in their tender, crispy pods.

If you get the urge for English peas that require shelling, you may be lucky enough to find someone at the market who does the work for you. This nice lady sold me shelled peas for $4/lb, and it saved me a lot of work.

The first pale green summer squash are here. I can't wait to stuff these with minced meat, onions and mint and bake them.

Lemonade alert: real pink lemons have arrived! If you find them, buy them - they're very hard to come by, and so sweet.

You can tell May is here: the Ferrari stand has the first organic cherries of the season! At $3/lb. for these bursting, juicy delicacies, you can't go wrong.

Loquats: Italians call them 'nespole.' This sought-after summer treat has a shelf-life of about 3 days once they're out of cold storage. Since they bruise easily and have a large pit, they've never gained a lot of popularity in the States. But try them: they taste like the warm summer ahead.

March 26, 2009

Buongiorno. Strawberry season is back! I know we had a few decent batches on the stands over the winter, but they rarely delivered that sweet, succulent burst of flavor we expect from this marvelous fruit. Finally, the first flavorful Albion strawberries can be found on the Miramonte Farms and Tomatero Farms stands: they're a confirmation winter is finally ending.

What I liked this week at the San Francisco farmers markets:

Artichokes are getting to be just right: plump leaves and meaty stems. When you're at the market, check for freshness by holding the artichoke in your hand — it should
feel heavy for its size and should squeak when squeezed. If it just feels spongy, it's probably old: try a different one. Sometimes the leaves will be streaked brown or
white from frostbite or windburn. Though unattractive, this won't affect taste.Baby red onions are here. You can use the bulbs in salads and the stalks in soups or (my favorite) as topping for Japanese soba noodles with bonito flakes.

For that zing in your Thai or Mexican dishes, cilantro withits roots intact is here. Store it by putting it in a glass of water when you get home: It will stay fresh much longer and will release its fragrant scent in your kitchen.

Purple asparagus is available from Couture Farms from Kettleman City. This cultivar from Albenga, Italy is sweeter than the green variety and perfect in spring salads. To keep its color, steam it or quickly stir fry it: prolonged cooking or boiling will turn it back green.

Fresh mint can be found on many stands, as pungent as you need it to be.

Champagne mangoes are here. A particularly hard-to-find, sweet, tropical fruitbrought to us by Andrea Tran's farm, in Palmdale. The Champagne variety has a very soft, delectable, juicy flesh: it's great served with grilled chicken or in salsas on a sunny spring day. If you keep them in the fridge, let them come back to room temperature before serving to revive their full flavor.

Andrea Tran also brought us the first Golden Finger bananas. This is a cultivar first developed in Honduras for use in salads: it's tangy and won't brown when cut!

March 13, 2009

Buongiorno -- my favorite farmers' market discovery this week had to be the aromatic (think shiso leaf) and overly spicy red mustard greens from Miramonte Farms. One side of each leaf is a deep maroon color, as you can see here against those screaming orange clementines. These could hold their own in a meat dish without fading into the background. The rest of the market is still ripe with winter citrus and dark, leafy vegetables -- enjoy them while they're this good.

What I liked this week at the San Francisco farmers markets:

Organic red and orange beets, just sweet enough to offset those dark-leaf vegetables. Try them roasted them in the oven, dabbed with pungent goat cheese, drizzled with balsamic vinegar syrup and sprinkled with chunky Pacific sea salt on top. Here are some other recipe ideas from Allrecipes or Epicurious.

Pasture-raised fresh eggs from Tomatero Farms for $6/dozen. These beauties are sustainably raised and collected one to three days before market, for a freshness you can actually taste in omelettes, soufflés or dishes where eggs are prominently featured. For bakers like me, the egg white has the proper viscous consistency to leaven dough properly and the yolk is a deep orange hue, adding a lovely gold tone to your crumb.

Fresh pecans have been available since last week. Think beyond desserts with these, because they're excellent in meat recipes such as this Pecan crusted chicken recipe.

The first guavas of the season are here, with a delicate, slightly sweet lemony flavor ideal in desserts or cool sauces for fiery meat dishes. Here are some recipes from Cooks.com.

California avocados are at their best right now. I enjoy them most in dishes with salty, tangy cheeses that cut through their buttery flavor -- try this recipe for a salsa with feta cheese.

Now's the time to enjoy citrus at its best: Lisbon lemons, clementines, tangerines, pomelos, valencia and blood oranges. Just look at them!

And don't forget flowers for your dinner table: Ranunculus are in full bloom.

February 24, 2009

Buongiorno. This week one of the highlights from my farmers market visit was finding a locally-harvested couple of pounds of local Manila clams from the Point Reyes Oyster Company. Usually the clams you get here on the West Coast are width of a plum: you buy a pound and you get about 12-15. When making most Italian dishes that call for clams, we use our small vongole that are the size of a quarter: there are about 60 to a pound. That way, you get one or two meaty morsels with every bite, instead of having to rely exclusively upon the sauce to carry the flavor.

Once I got them home, I made a quick soffritto with garlic and red pepper...

... and our lunch was ready in about 20 minutes. Point Reyes Oyster Co also carries mussels this time of year, but they were sold out by the time I got there (9:20am).

The first fresh asparagus of the season are here from my favorite producer: Couture Farms from Kettleman City. These are tender, grassy and juicy with that crunchy snap that only comes from the freshest asparagus - not the droopy supermarket kind. Try them in stir-fries and soups, and in this seasonal recipe with lemongrass and a shallot vinagrette.

Fresh lemongrass is plentiful and works well with asparagus. Remember: either take out the stalk after you cook it or mince it, because it's too hard to chew otherwise. Here's a great visual tutorial on proper prep for lemongrass.

Since Lisa's sprouted beans recipe was so popular at our last event, I wanted to pass along this hot tip: At the Ferry Plaza farmers market you can find a broad selection of sprouted legumes costing $2-$3.50/lb. They're excellent in salads, sandwiches, and starters for breads. If you want to sprout your own beans, supplies and directions can be found at Sprout People.

The most tender, small-leaved dinokale I've had in a while can be found on the Tomatero Farms stand. It's important to eat kale as fresh as possible, otherwise it develops a cabbagey flavor that many people dislike. I really enjoyed this recipe that combines sweet pork tenderloin marinated in a stone-ground mustard and sherry vinegar with dino kale's delicate chard-like flavor.

There are some pungent leeks that are just waiting to be added to pancetta (or bacon) and Capay Farms Yukon Gold organic potatoes in the ultimate rainy-day soup.

Sugarcane is here. Since our next event will feature all poultry except chicken, who's making us a dish with this marinade?

Longans are here. A cousin of lychees, this Chinese fruit is sweet, meaty, and makes an excellent snack. Try them in desserts and Thai-style stir fries.

First time I've seen them at the market in California: fresh pecans. When they're this fresh their flavor is concentrated and buttery. Try them in these tarts: I could die happy after one of those.

Couture Farms also brought raw, unsalted pistachios. They're the perfect in dishes with seasonal Lisbon lemons and limes, not to mention this lime and pistachio tart recipe.

Pomelos are a must for winter salads. Here's a terrific spicy salad that combines its tangy, aromatic flavor with buttery smoked salmon ... you know you want some.

Let's not forget: getting your citrus at farmers markets means you get to sample before you buy, so you get no bland or sour surprises once you get home.

February 12, 2009

Buongiorno - our dinner is a few days away and I've been looking for maximum-flavor legumes to cook at our dinner. To accompany the sesame-seed bread I'm making, I'm making two pâtés from these sexy Yellow Eye beans ($4.95/lb, above) from Napa's Rancho Gordo, and intensely nutty, locally sourced organic Du Puy french green lentils ($1.85/lb, below). I may also case some free-range Berkshire pork sausages if I find a little extra time this week. Can't wait...A presto,Marco Flavio

What I found this week:Several kinds of nutty, pungent winter cabbages: Napa, Savoy and more. Perfect for a potato soup, a beef stir-fry or that ultimate wrapper for your Mu Shu pork.The most grassy, sweet pea greens ... think snow-pea pod meets field green. Don't pass these up!They're ideal in a salad or quickly stir-fried with a few slivers of garlic and Sriracha hot sauce.

A few heads of radicchio di Treviso are available from Capay Farms. These are properly bitter but robust, like walnuts. Try them grilled and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and a little Lisbon lemon juice (a few stands down from Bernard Family Ranch), and sprinkled with fleur de sel.

Organic walnuts in the shell for $1.50/lb from Ferrari Farms: just right in breads, cereal, trail mix or your very own walnut gelato.

Blood oranges: the dream team with chocolate or coffee desserts. Who's using them this Sunday?

I can't pass up kiwifruit when they're as ripe and ready to eat as they are now ... they always remind me of home, since Italy's the world's top producer. Take that, New Zealand.